Social Psychologies, Emotions, Bodies

The previous two chapters have dealt with subjects where some wish to detach technologies from their social embeddedness. In this chapter we turn towards subjects where the social framework is more obvious but still highly contested. We are going to deal with three principal dimensions of the self (psyche, emotions and the body) by first outlining the contours of some recent debates and exploring the connections with social policy as we proceed. The intention here is not to integrate the three dimensions closely but to underline the point being made throughout these later chapters, that contestation and debate revolves around disagreement over the nature of the social.